If you want to be a star player, you need to strive for that every day. Practice is only beneficial if you know what skills to work on. That is what this article is going to provide: information. Carry on reading to learn how to improve your soccer skills.

Try to catch the other team by surprise at all times. Good players are going to recognize and predict all of your plays if you are someone who doesn’t do anything new. Try sending the ball to the opposite side of the field or even behind you if defenders are closing in on you quickly.

Fool your defenders by dribbling in the opposing direction you are seeking to go. Whenever you make a move, your defenders will quickly follow you. By immediately changing sides, you can skillfully throw them off. That will help you get around them.

Soccer is always a team-oriented sport! This is an extremely important concept. Playing for your glory alone will never end well. Soccer is a team sport and requires a team spirit to win. Keep the goal of the entire team in mind in order to ensure success. If you focus more on teamwork rather than personal glory, your chances for success increase.

To get prepared to play soccer when the season comes around, in the off season you should increase your stamina by running long distance. Typically, a soccer player runs for about eight miles per game. By completing lots of distance runs, your stamina will grow, making you a much better player during games.

To get good at dribbling in soccer, practice using a tennis ball. When you work with that little ball, you are used to constantly adjusting your feet in order to control it. When this becomes comfortable, using a regulation soccer ball will seem easy.

You need to have proper footwear when playing soccer. Football cleats and golf shoes won’t cut it. Improper footwear will not only affect your game, it will increase the chances of injuring yourself or others.

You shouldn’t try to be overly confident when you’re playing soccer. While you may be a great player, there are always unexpected that can happen. If you play like you’re the king of the hill, someone just might take you down.

Learn from your errors. If you happen to see that you always have the ball stolen from you during the dribble, learn from that. Ask others who don’t have this problem how they avoid it. If effective dribbling is a problem for you, ask the coach or a more talented teammate for advice.

It is important to wear the right kind of shoe for the field surface of your soccer game. If you’re playing on grass surface then you’re going to cleats that perform well on this type of field. Generally when playing outdoors you need cleats that are permanent and firm. Permanent cleats are available in many different patterns in order to adapt to each playing surface.

Use the advice that you have received to mature into a better soccer player. This game is fun and filled with a lot of action and excitement. The more you learn about the game, the more you will get out of it.